Happy Year of the Rooster!

As January comes to a close, the team here at Zapya would like to wish its friends, near and afar, a very Happy Chinese New Year. We thought it would be nice to give our users a brief historical breakdown of the holiday, and how we celebrated Chinese New Year here in Beijing.

The Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it’s been called since the 20th century, remains the most important social and economic holiday in China. Originally tied to the lunar-solar Chinese calendar, the holiday was a time to honor household and heavenly deities as well as ancestors. It was also a time to bring family together for feasting.

Today, younger generations of Chinese celebrate Chinese New Year quite differently from their ancestors. In some cases, the holiday has evolved from an opportunity to renew family ties to a chance for relaxation from work.

Now, here are some “did you know” fun facts about the holiday:

Chinese New Year extends well beyond the borders of China; it is celebrated in Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Malaysia, North Korea, Brunei, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Macau.

Chinese New Year is celebrated by almost 1/5 of the world’s population.

A lot of “Red Envelopes” wish money is given from older to younger people during the holiday seasons — it’s almost like a bonus!

Now, here’s a small peek at how we celebrated the arrival of the New Year, Zapya style.